This application claims the benefits of Chinese Patent Application No. 01222632.7, filed May 15, 2001, which status is pending.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nozzle attachment for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, this invention relates to a nozzle attachment for a vacuum cleaner that allows gentle, effective, sufficient and safe cleaning of intricate, hard to reach, and other surfaces and has combined functions both as a broom and a vacuum machine.
2. The Prior Art
It is known that vacuum cleaner has revolutionized people""s daily life by utilizing a suction force offered by a vacuum source to collect dust and debris from various surfaces.
It is also known to provide vacuum cleaner head having bristles and arranged so that dust and debris disturbed in use by brushing over a surface is drawn into a vacuum cleaner. The bristled head is usually fitted to an end of a rigid tube which is in turn connected via a flexible tube to a vacuum cleaner body. The bristled head may be somewhat loosely connected to the rigid tube to provide some relative movement during use of the vacuum cleaner.
In particular, efforts have been made in the art to combine the suction force offered by a vacuum source such as a vacuum cleaner and the sweeping power of a broom to form new cleaning device for better performance. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,095 discloses an array of pliable fingers being used with a vacuum source and communicating with plural, flexible tubes to remove fleas from pets.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,651 discloses a nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner that has a brush and a plurality of flexible tubes being inserted within brush. As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of tubes 12, which provide suction force, are evenly aligned within brush 10 at precise spaced locations. The space between the tubes are filled by bristle members.
However, because the tubes are spaced separately from each other, it provides insufficient suction force for the purpose of cleaning some types of surfaces. Moreover, the required alignment of the tubes may make the manufacturing process cumbersome and time consuming. Additionally, because the mixture of the tubes and the bristle members, debris such as hairs entangled with the bristle members may block the air intaking of the tubes and thus further weaken the suction force of the nozzle assembly.
The above-noted disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, which in one aspect is a nozzle attachment for a vacuum cleaner. In one embodiment, the nozzle attachment includes a plurality of open-ended tubes, where the tubes are parallel to one another axially and each of the tubes is in contact with at least one other tube side by side so as to form an array of the tubes. The nozzle attachment also has a plurality of bristle members forming a brush, and an adapter having a first end and a second end, an interior chamber extending between the first end and the second end, and a mouth at the second end, where the first end is connectable to a vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner so as to provide suction and the second end is adapted to receive therein the array of the tubes and the brush through the mouth. The array of the tubes and the brush are positioned in a fixed side by side relationship and the tubes are in flow communication with the vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner through the interior chamber of the adapter. Additionally, the nozzle attachment has means for holding the array of the tubes and the brush in the fixed side by side relationship.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the tubes are comprised of flexible material. Moreover, the tubes are of shorter length than the bristles and of annular cross section. As formed, the array of the tubes can be substantially of a semi-circle shape crosssectionally, a rectangular shape cross-sectionally, or an annular shape cross-sectionally. Likewise, the brush can be substantially of a semi-circle shape cross-sectionally, a rectangular shape cross-sectionally, or an annular shape cross-sectionally.
In another aspect, the invention includes a nozzle attachment for a vacuum cleaner. In one embodiment, the nozzle attachment includes a plurality of open-ended tubes, wherein the tubes are parallel to one another axially and each of the tubes is in contact with at least one other tube side by side so as to form an array of the tubes. The nozzle attachment also includes a plurality of bristle members forming a first brush and a plurality of bristle members forming a second brush. Moreover, the nozzle attachment has an adapter having a first end and a second end, an interior chamber extending between the first end and the second end, and a mouth at the second end, where the first end is connectable to a vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner so as to provide suction and the second end is adapted to receive therein the array of the tubes, the first brush and the second brush through the mouth. The array of the tubes is positioned between the first brush and the second brush and the tubes are in flow communication with the vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner through the interior chamber of the adapter. Additionally, the nozzle attachment include means for holding the array of the tubes and the first brush and the second brush in a fixed relationship, in which the array of the tubes is positioned between the first brush and the second brush.
In yet another aspect, the invention includes a nozzle attachment for a vacuum cleaner. In one embodiment, the nozzle attachment includes a plurality of open-ended tubes, where the tubes parallel to one another axially and each of the tubes in contact with at least one other tube side by side so as to form an array of the tubes. The nozzle attachment also includes a plurality of bristle members forming a brush, where the brush is formed to at least partially encircle the array of the tubes. Moreover, the nozzle attachment has an adapter having a first end and a second end, an interior chamber extending between the first end and the second end, and a mouth at the second end, the first end connectable to a vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner so as to provide suction and the second end being adapted to receive therein the array of the tubes and the brush through the mouth. The array of the tubes is encircled at least partially by the brush and the tubes are in flow communication with the vacuum source of the vacuum cleaner through the interior chamber of the adapter. Additionally, the nozzle attachment further has means for holding the array of the tubes and the brush in a fixed relationship, in which the array of the tubes is encircled at least partially by the brush.
These and other aspects will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.